Connecticut happens to boast some of the richest opportunities in the country for “leaf-peeping”: that is, appreciating autumn colors. With stylish, full-of-character accommodations at Hotel Zero Degrees, you’ve got the perfect home base for leaf-peeping odysseys in and around Fairfield County, where fall foliage really puts the “gold” in Connecticut’s Gold Coast.
Here are a few choice destinations for first-rate fall colors within easy reach of our three hotels!
Some 20 miles of trails await your leaf-peeping explorations at Devil’s Den Preserve, which at better than 1,700 acres constitutes the largest holding of the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut and Fairfield County’s biggest protected swath. Rolling woods strung with streams and bottomlands burst forth with multicolored glory this time of year.
Collis P. Huntington State Park
Savor autumnal hardwood hues in this former homestead, a patchwork of woods, fields, and ponds. Among the park’s most distinctive features are the wolf and bear sculptures gracing its entrance: works by well-known artist Anna Hyatt Huntington. (Keep in mind portions of Collis P. Huntington State Park are open to archery deer-hunting this season: Wear blaze-orange if you’re recreating in those sections, or stick to the part of the park closed to hunting.)
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation (New York)
Just over the state border in New York, 4,315-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservation includes miles of hiking trails through its mixed forests, offering some up-close enjoyment of fall’s reds, yellows, and bronzes.
Experience the unique fall colors of the Long Island Sound shore at this oldest of Connecticut’s state parks—not least the burnished hues of its fertile salt marshes. The West Woods trail shows off the muted but lovely autumn displays of a coastal oak forest.
The Timing of Peak Fall Colors in Fairfield County
The exact strength and timing of our local fall-color display varies depending on a given season’s weather conditions, but generally speaking Fairfield County here in far southwestern Connecticut peaks, foliage-wise, on the later end of things: often not until the first week or so of November. You can get a sense for the statewide leaf-peeping schedule over at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection’s (DEEP’s) Fall Foliage Report interactive map.
(And meantime bone up on some fall-colors 101 at this informative DEEP writeup on the science behind autumn leaves.)
Take a Leaf-Peeping Getaway in Fairfield County at Hotel Zero Degrees
From Devil’s Den to Sherwood Island and beyond, take in Mother Nature’s outstanding seasonal show this fall in Fairfield County with well-appointed lodgings at Hotel Zero Degrees Danbury, Stamford, or Norwalk: ace leaf-peeping headquarters, each of them!